Many opposition candidates have been attacked or arrested. A new “Patriotic Bill” will also allow critics of the government to be prosecuted criminally for undermining the country
When the opposition candidates arrived in the village of Skei, near Zimbabwe’s capital, some voters were nervous. “Get away from here,” one woman shouted, chasing them away from her home.
Members of the main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change , have suffered a barrage of violence and harassment in the campaign. One of its supporters was stoned to death by assailants from the ruling party on his way to a campaign rally. Dozens of CCC rallies have been banned by police. Many of its candidates have been attacked or arrested, and a new law known as the “Patriotic Bill” will allow critics of the government to be prosecuted criminally for undermining the country.
Stories of political violence are not difficult to find here. “I was beaten for supporting the opposition,” said 46-year-old Chiripai Mikiri, who said he fled from another village further north after the attack. Much of the violence was blamed on then-president Robert Mugabe, who ruled the country from 1980 until he was toppled in a military coup in 2017. But his successor, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has tightened the ruling party’s grip on power and allowed the violence to continue.
Because of intimidation and bribery, many villagers pretend to support ZANU-PF when they secretly prefer the opposition, Mr. Tsvangirai told The Globe in an interview.“People are still traumatized by the events of 2008. This is not a free and fair election already. It shows that Mnangagwa doesn’t have support on the ground. Why would you beat up people if you have support? He is scared, and that’s why he has resorted to violence.
Another CCC candidate, Trustwell Chikomo, was campaigning in a Harare suburb on July 20 when he was ambushed by a gang of ZANU-PF supporters armed with machetes, metal rods, sticks and rocks. They surrounded his vehicle, singing anti-opposition songs, and ripped down his campaign posters, replacing them with Mnangagwa posters.“They ordered everyone in the vehicle to remove our campaign regalia,” Mr. Chikomo told The Globe. “They threatened to kill everyone.
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